RIVERSIDE – (INT) – A discovery by UC Riverside researchers will help unravel a 40-year mystery and could greatly improve battery performance in electronic devices and electric vehicles.

The team discovered that by coating high performing lithium-ion batteries with an organic compound called methyl viologen, they are able to stabilize battery performance, eliminate dendrite growth and increase the lifetime of the battery by more than three times compared to the current standard electrolyte used with lithium metal anodes.

Lithium-ion batteries are a key component of laptops, smart phones, and electric vehicles.

“This has the potential to change the future,” said Chao Wang, an adjunct assistant professor of chemistry at UC Riverside who is the lead author of the paper. “It is low cost, easily manipulated and compatible with the current lithium ion battery industry.”

Story Date: April 28, 2017